Red: The Journey
by KingKiller6
Summary: A young man sets out from Pallet Town. He ends up on Mount Silver. Why? What are his goals? What are his thoughts? What happened on his journey that he endures the freezing cold day after day without any human company?
1. Chapter 1 - The Return

A/N – I would like to thank 92FireDemon as well as all the other writers out there for inspiration for this story. I've always loved reading stories of Red. Red, the first ever player character. Red, the legendary trainer. This is my attempt to get inside his head, create his backstory, and put it on paper. Hope the readers like it and review!

Chapter 1 – The Return

At first glance, the glade looked as abandoned to the forces of nature as it had been five years ago. The last rays of sunlight were not enough to light up the entire area, but visibility was not poor. Small creatures could be seen scurrying across the branches of tall oaks, or flitting through the ferns and bushes littering the ground. A light wind blew steadily across the open space, breaking the quiet by rustling the leaves. All in all, it was peaceful- an idyllic view of a simple forest.

All of a sudden, powerful, erratic gusts of wind made the branches tremble and frightened the little denizens of the clearing. The origin of these gusts was a large black dragon shaped creature seen up in the sky above the glade. The dragon was hovering in place just above the treetops. The tip of its tail looked to be on fire, the heat of which could be felt over a hundred feet away; each of its limbs ended in claws the looked like they could cut through stone with ease. The dragon let out a roar, showing fangs like daggers. Its eyes were a brilliant crimson. On its back was a young man, black hair ruffled by the flapping wings.

The dragon slowly descended into the clearing, causing all the forest inhabitants to scurry away in alarm. As the dragon neared the ground, the man leapt of its back in a remarkable show of agility and landed on his sneaker covered feet. His shoes, like the rest of his clothing, was completely black, matching the colour of the dragon he had just disembarked from. He was carrying a small backpack, inside which another creature was placed; one could see its head, as it could not completely fit inside the backpack. This one was orange in colour, with large pointy ears not unlike those of an elf with the tips curling. It jumped out of the backpack as the young man touched ground, and one could see that it had a long thin tail that ended in a lightning bolt.

The youth reached into his backpack and took out a red hat and put it on. He then reached to his belt and pulled out three small balls, about the size of a ping-pong ball; each was half red and half white. He pressed a button on each one and it enlarged to the size of an orange after which a beam of light shot out from the ball giving form to other creatures, each one a magnificent specimen of its species.

One was a large tortoise, standing upright on its hind legs. It had a smirk plastered on its face, and it stretched out its arms as if just awakened from slumber. From its shell, on either side of its head, cannons popped out with blinding speed. They remained out for a few seconds, as if stretching those as well and then popped back in just as quickly as they appeared.

Another one was a green reptilian quadruped, looking very much like a lizard without a tail. If said lizard had a tree growing out of its back, that is. This one stomped the ground with its front legs, as if annoyed at something. The Stomp attack made very ground quake for a dozen feet around.

The last one looked like a teddy bear, albeit a giant one. Its fur was dark, with a light patch around its belly. It also had its lower canines sticking out of its mouth along with sharp claws on each limb adding some ferocity to its otherwise cute and cuddly look. This particular creature gave a large yawn as soon as it was out of the ball. It then collapsed backwards and was immediately snoring away. The Yawn attack had the other inhabitants of the glade feeling drowsy soon after, but they were able to shake it off and remain awake.

The young man looked at the sleeping creature and grinned. This was not an unusual occurrence with the large teddy. He turned away to the black dragon and stroked its head. The normally fierce countenance of the dragon gave way to a pleased expression, much like a puppy being petted by its owner.

Suddenly another creature crashed down next to the black dragon.

The man pivoted to look at the newcomer. This one had a feline look to it. It was humanoid though, with a long purple tail. There were two small horns on its head and purple eyes. It had thin arms, and its limbs each ended with three digits, all having spherical tips. Apart from its neck, a tube also connected its head with its torso, giving it a very 'genetic experiment' look.

The late arrival had an annoyed look on its face. _'How does that infernal dragon fly so fast! I had trouble keeping up even using Teleport!' _said a voice inside the young man's head, clearly displaying the creature's psychic capabilities.

He grinned in reply and shrugged. He swivelled to face the dragon and said a single word.

"Here."

The midnight coloured dragon nodded and settled down on the ground. The remaining creatures also visibly relaxed. The large lizard sent out a number of leaves and twigs from the tree on its back, which landed in a messy pile in the middle of the gathering. The feline levitated some stones and pebbles to form a ring outside the pile. With a puff the dragon sent out an ember to set them ablaze.

Within twenty minutes the clearing fell under the spell of the wonderful aroma of freshly cooked meat. The young man had spent years living alone cooking and caring for himself and his creatures. The long years of practice had had a not inconsiderable effect on his culinary skills. This particular meal consisted of two 'ducks' for the teddy bear creature and two 'goldfish' for the rest of them. Hunting and catching creatures was a trivial job with the psychic powers of the feline humanoid.

After the meal, the sky was completely dark, except for the millions of twinkling stars and the full moon shining. All the creatures in the forest that had been scurrying around earlier were now asleep in their burrows and nests. Some nocturnal ones were moving about foraging for food, but in all, the glade was much quieter than before.

The young man sat with his back against the dragon, the fire dwindling a few feet away. He was covered by the dragon's wing and he was protected from the sudden chilly gusts of wind. They were quite close to a large and famous mountain, and occasionally the snowstorms on its peak would send some cold wind all around it for a few kilometres.

He was surrounded by the rest of his companions, all of which were in varying states of sleep. The tortoise had retreated into its shell, which was lying on a blue mat, a little ragged and worn from seeing years of use. The lizard had just thumped its torso on the ground as far away from the dragon as it could and still be near the man. The little rat was lying on the man's lap, with its eyes shut and its tail slowly swishing side to side. The bear had woken up just to eat, and after its meal it immediately slept again.

The feline, however, did not need sleep and was floating high around the clearing keeping watch, surrounded by a protective bubble. Its psychic abilities allowed it to sense things for a few hundred meters around and as such did not need to patrol, but floating around gave it a sense of comfort.

Soon, the fire died out, and with it, the wakefulness of the newcomers. All except the floating feline slept well, secure in the presence of their companions. Today the forest seemed peaceful, but soon the world would be turned on its head.


	2. Chapter 2 - Pre Start

A/N - Next chapter up. Hope you readers enjoy it, and please review!

Chapter 2 – Pre Start

A teenaged boy stood outside a large single storied building.

It was late morning on a chilly day in early spring; the birds were chirping as they fed their young and the branches of the nearby trees swayed with the breeze that ruffled the dark hair on the boy's head and gave him goose bumps. The hat that was usually on his head was held in his hands; a sign of the nervousness he was feeling.

He looked at his watch and sighed. 'A few more minutes and then I can finally get my own Pokemon!'

Ever since he could remember, the boy knew that he wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer.

Pokemon – an abbreviation for pocket monsters. The world was populated with these magnificent creatures. They came in all shapes and sizes — from a tiny caterpillar to a gigantic rock snake. There were birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, and all types. However, these creatures had special powers. They could breathe fire, create earthquakes, start floods and much more, all at will. Humans and Pokemon had gotten along for many centuries. People had befriended the creatures and worked alongside them. During those times, they were simply known as monsters.

Relatively recent was the advent of devices that allowed humans to capture Pokemon and carry the captured Pokemon alongside them. Hence the name pocket monsters, or Pokemon for short. These devices, which were spherical and hence called Poke Balls, led to many changes in society, not the least of which was the formation of the Pokemon League and the registration of Trainers. There were psychological changes as well. Many people still cared about and respected Pokemon as they did before Poke Balls were invented, but some people grew to believe that Pokemon were their slaves. The very thought of this made the boys grip on his hat tighten. _Such people should be banned from being Trainers! I will not tolerate such behaviour!_

He had been waiting to become a Trainer for years; as far back as he could remember it had been his dream. But first he had to wait until he turned eleven, the standard age at which people were officially allowed to own a Pokemon training license. He had impatiently gone through his early school years at Pokemon Training Elementary, acing all his classes in his dream of being the best Trainer in the world. His parents had been so proud of him. They had nurtured his dream to grow as a Trainer and had always supported him in his goal.

But disaster struck, and a month before he would be allowed to apply for his training license, his family business fell through. A freak thunderstorm at night had set their store on fire, destroying most of their current stock and resulting in tremendous losses for his family.

Soon after that, his father had taken his own life, after drinking away most of what money remained. His mother and he, the remainder of their small family, decided together that he could put off going on his Pokemon training adventure for some time while they got the business up and running again. All day the boy worked in the store. In his spare time, he would do all sorts of odd jobs in town to earn a bit of extra spending cash. The harsh reality of life at a young age took its toll on him. It was hard to be happy in that period of suffering, when the fangs of hunger were gnawing in both mother and son's bellies. They didn't always go hungry though, but belts had to be tightened. There weren't many reasons for happiness, and he learned soon that displays of grief could earn all sorts of punishments from local bullies. The few times that he had tried to retaliate, he had been shown his place and beaten into the dirt. And so he became an expert at hiding his emotions, never letting any of his feelings surface on his face. His mother tried to pull him out of this emotional shell, but to no avail. Still, she never gave up on trying to get him to open up.

After five years, their hard work finally paid off. The Pokemon goods store that they owned was bought over by the chain of Poke Marts that had an outlet in every city. They were rich!

The mother-son duo decided to move far away from that town, and hence sold their house and relocated to a small town; one which did not even have a Gym, or a Poke Mart, or even a Pokemon Centre.

This town's name was Pallet Town, but it was more like a village. A smattering of houses, and a large building which turned out to be a laboratory. There were few families living there, mostly those of researchers working at the lab. It was a nice quiet town, ideal as the retirement home of the teenage boy's mother. They had made a nice packet from the sale of their store, and she didn't need to work anymore. As the youth was now leaving home, she preferred to be in a small town, away from the hustle and bustle of larger settlements and cities. Pallet Town, home to the world-renowned Pokemon researcher, Professor Oak, and his almost as famous grandson Blue, who had become the youngest ever Champion of the Kanto region at the age of thirteen.

Champions were considered the very best of all Trainers. They had to defeat a quartet of very powerful Trainers called the Elite Four. Normally this would be next to impossible for most Trainers but a Champion had to defeat each of the Elite Four back to back. It took more than just power to become a Champion; a Trainer had to know his Pokemon's strengths and weaknesses, train Pokemon to be very strong and use many strategies in order to gain the title. If there was a current Champion, a new contender had to defeat that one too before they could become Champion. It was not a title gained by many.

Blue now lived within the Pokemon League headquarters at Indigo Plateau, which is where Trainers could challenge the Elite Four. He was kept in the lap of luxury, with adoring fans at his beck and call. Even so, he had clearly kept up his training regime, as evidenced during the many exhibition matches that he participated in. Since he had gained the title, not even one Trainer had been able to beat the Elite Four to reach him. So to display his skills and gain even more adulation from his ever widening fan base, he showed off during exhibition matches against the Elite Four. He had not lost even once.

The boy shook his head to clear out his thoughts. There wasn't time for thinking about Blue and the Elite Four right now. The moment was finally here. The moment he had been waiting for his entire life. The moment he had been dreading. He would get his training license and his first Pokemon. Ever since he could remember, he had been looking forward to this moment. He was dreading it because he would also have to make a choice. Newbie Trainers were offered three Pokemon out of which they would be allowed to pick only one. It was this choice that he was dreading.

_Where are the others?_

Every six months, a day was set aside for new Trainers to be registered and receive a Pokemon. All the prospective Trainers who were eleven or older could apply on that day. The application process consisted of a form, which asked for basic data like name, age, etc.; an essay about why the applicant wants to be a Trainer; and an application fee, which would go towards the cost of procuring a Pokemon to start with. In the Kanto region, the venue for registration was Professor Oak's lab, which is another reason that the boy and his mother moved to Pallet Town. He had to begin his journey from here. Trainers could also receive a Pokemon from a friend or relative and apply for their license with that Pokemon, but then they would not receive a Pokemon from Professor Oak. Neither the boy nor his mother had many friends or relatives, let alone ones with Pokemon available for gifting. So he stood outside Professor Oak's lab on the appointed day, and prepared himself for the choice he would have to make.

He checked his watch again and saw that it was time. He looked around again for the other applicants and did not see any. _Am I the only one this time?_ He knocked on the heavy wooden door and waited. After a few moments, the sound of shuffling feet permeated through to where the boy was standing. He felt his palms grow sweaty and his heartbeat pick up. The door creaked open.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Choice

A/N - Chapter 3 is here. Please review!

Chapter 3 - The Choice

An old man peered out of the gap between the door and the frame. He had wrinkles on his face, and his hair was completely grey, but his eyes were still full of life. When he saw the boy standing there, he opened the door completely. He was wearing a white lab coat over a red shirt and khaki trousers. Despite his age, he lacked the frail build that comes with age, and his movements were still vigourous.

"Can I help you?" the man asked with a gruff voice. "Oh you must be here to register as a Trainer. Where are the others?" He took a moment to look around. "It's only you then? Follow me. Shut the door on your way in. There's a good lad."

The old man rambled on as he led the way into the laboratory. "I am Professor Oak, but you probably already knew that. You know, I was quite surprised when I was informed that a sixteen-year-old boy would be applying for his license. It's not a common occurrence at all. What is your name again?"

The duo walked through a room with lab assistants working on some sort of machinery, through to a corridor and then past that into another large room with doors that swivelled shut when released. This one was more spacious than the first. There was a table just off centre, on top of which was a tray with three Poke Balls. The Poke Balls were round, like their name suggested. The top half of each was red while the bottom was white. There was a black band separating the two halves where the Ball would open up to capture and release the Pokemon. A small button was at the centre of Ball, half on the red side and half on the white. This was used to shrink the Ball for easy storage on a Trainer's belt, or enlarge it for other practical purposes such as throwing.

The boy tore his eyes away from the Poke Balls. On a table against the far wall was a computer with many monitors, each displaying some data that was constantly changing. The table was also stacked messily with papers. Peeking out from under some sheets, the teen could see a flash of shiny plastic. _Is that what I think it is?_ In another part of the room, a large machine was flashing lights and beeping at irregular intervals. Clearly the professor was a busy man.

"Red."

"Ah yes, Red! Well, Red, today is the day you finally become a Pokemon Trainer. Your mother came to visit me a day after you moved into Pallet Town." It had been only three days since they had moved. The boy had not had time to explore the city as he had been busy setting up the telephone, television, internet and other requirements of civilised life. _Mom came to meet him? Why didn't she tell me?_

"We had tea together. We chatted for quite a while. She told me all about you. Couldn't stop talking about you, actually. Everything was "My son this, and my son that." I'm glad to see that your mother is so proud of you. I'm thinking of —" Professor Oak was cut off by the sound of running feet in the hallway and the door suddenly slammed open, causing both to turn to see what the cause of the commotion was.

Three people stood at the entrance to the room. All three were younger than Red; they looked to be about eleven and probably were, as it was the starting age for most first was a boy, who was holding the swivel door open with an outstretched arm. He was dressed in green shorts and a matching shirt and hat. There was a red tie around his neck. He looked like a boy scout. On the other side of the doorway was a girl. Her clothes matched the first boy's exactly, right down to their shoes. The last person stood between the others and just behind them. He was slightly taller than the other two, and had a smug look on his face. He was wearing a red track suit. As the three walked in together, the one at the back ran a hand through his longish purple hair.

"We want our Pokemon! I get to choose first!" said the girl.

"No, you don't, I do!" replied her male mirror image.

"Calm down now. You must be the other candidates for a Training license. What are your names?" interjected Professor Oak. The one at the back nudged between the others and stepped in front. Red noticed that he already had his bag and Poke Ball belt ready. This boy was already prepared to leave on his journey.

"I am Rolando. I have studied Pokemon Training extensively and I will be the best Trainer ever! These two are Tina and Ricky. All they are interested in is camping in the woods, the fools" said the boy as he nodded at the girl and the other boy respectively. "We have come from Saffron City to start our journey!"

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, I was expecting you. I was quite surprised to see Red here standing by himself at the appointed time of 10 am. He was the only one on time. You all realise that you are late, and because of that you will be punished? Let's see. What would be suitable?"

Hearing this, the three newcomers looked alarmed. All three had been looking forward to receiving a Pokemon and this was not a good way to start. _Poor kids. They were only a few minutes late. I hope the punishment isn't too bad. _

"How about this - I had originally kept four Pokemon aside to give to the four of you. Three of them are the usual Pokemon I give out to starting Trainers, and one is a wild card that is not normally given out." Saying so, Oak placed a Poke Ball on the table along with the others. This one looked a little different though. Instead of a white half, it was completely red. _A Cherish Ball! They are only used on special occasions._ "I had thought that I would give each of you an equal chance of earning the special Pokemon, but because three of you were late, you do not have that right anymore. You three will be limited to the normal ones."

Rolando, Ricky and Tina, all three of their faces visibly relaxed. It wasn't such a bad deal at all. _Heh, it's not a punishment if you take away an unexpected benefit. They really got lucky._

_"_However" Oak continued, "Red, as he was on time, will get to choose first. He still has access to the special Pokemon. If he picks that one, then the three of you can pick from the three usual starters. But if he chooses not to pick the special one, and instead chooses one of the normal ones, I will not be adding any more Pokemon to the table. One of you will go without a Pokemon."

He waited for the implication to sink in. It hit Rolando first, then Tina and finally Ricky, each about a second apart. All three lost all colour in their faces and ran up to Red. He towered over them, the five year age gap very apparent.

"Red! You have to choose the special one!"

"Red, please choose the special one!"

"Please, please, please!" the three of them begged.

Red was surrounded by the kids as they tugged at his jacket and implored him to pick the special Pokemon. _I have been waiting five years for this opportunity. Just because this 'special' Pokemon is not normally given out, does not mean that it is a good choice. The normal starters are Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. This could be a Pidgey, or a Rattata, or worse — a Magikarp! How can I risk my entire career on the basis of this surprise? On the other hand it could be an Eevee, or a Hitmonchan! _

Oak was looking at Red thoughtfully. A ghost of a smile played on his lips, but it vanished as Red looked at him. He stood there with a poker face, determined to not give out any hint. _Damn the man! If only he would give me some clue… I don't want any of these poor kids to miss out on being a Trainer, but I don't want to be stuck with a disadvantageous Pokemon either. _

Red stood there debating internally for what seemed like eternity. The kids had stopped pleading with him and just stood to a side sullenly staring at him. He had not given any indication as to what his choice would be. Inwardly, he came to a decision and walked towards the table. He examined the Balls there for a few seconds and picked one up.

A/N - Any guesses as to his choice?


	4. Chapter 4 - Proceedings

A/N - Here's Chapter 4. Please review. It really means a lot to a writer to gain feedback. Also, a huge thank you to my wonderful fiancé for beta reading.

Chapter 4 - Proceedings

Red picked up one of the Balls lying on the table and turned to face the others. It was the Cherish Ball, the completely red Poké Ball that signified a special event. As he looked at the three preteens in front of him, the relief on their faces was palpable. Ricky even ran the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping the perspiration that had gathered there. _Heh, I really had them worried for a second. _

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tina exclaimed as she ran up to Red and threw her arms around him. Ricky joined her while Rolando maintained some distance, while still thanking Red.

Oak was watching the proceedings, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and a stony face. Even so, his eyes were twinkling, as if he were privy to a joke that nobody else could understand. As one, Rolando, Ricky and Tina turned towards him.

"So now that Red has graciously decided to let all of you receive a Pokémon, let's get to it. Who will go first? Let's see. As the only lady here, Tina, you may be the first to choose."

Tina let out a whoop and jumped in the air. She ran to the table with the Poké Balls while her hat flew off her head. She didn't even bother to pick it up as she was busy examining the Balls. In front of each of the Poké Balls was a label stating which Pokémon was inside. From left there was Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. Each was of a different Type and had different strengths and weaknesses.

"So which will you choose - The Grass Type Bulbasaur, the Fire Type Charmander or the Water Type Squirtle?"

"I pick this one! I love camping and a Grass Type will be the most helpful to me" said Tina as she grabbed the first Ball from the left. She threw the Ball into the air and it opened up as if on a hinge and let out a red plasma. As the plasma fell towards the ground, it coalesced into the shape of a quadruped reptile. The Grass Pokémon was green in colour with large darker green patches on its body. It had a large bulb, like an onion, on its back. The bulb was also green, albeit a different shade from the others. Bulbasaur stretched and padded over to Tina, who knelt to greet it. "Hi Bulbasaur, I'm Tina, your new Trainer." Bulbasaur sent out two vines from its bulb, which resulted in a gasp from Tina and Ricky. _Clearly these kids have never seen a Bulbasaur before. They use their vines for everything._ Bulbasaur used its vines to lift Tina's hat and place it on her head. Tina looked surprised for a second, before grinning and hugging the Pokémon.

"So Tina chooses Bulbasaur. Who's next?" asked Oak. At this, the boys both jumped and raised their hands.

"Me! Me!"

"No, me!"

"Calm down boys. Ricky, since you're younger than Rolando by a couple of months, I'll let you go next." Rolando let out a groan at hearing this. Ricky grinned and ran to the table with the Poké Balls.

"I'll take Squirtle! Water is always required when camping!" said Ricky as he snatched the Poké Ball on the right. Rolando let out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you think so, because I wanted Charmander from the very start!" and grabbed the last Poké Ball on the table. Both of them let out their Pokémon, which were soon standing by their Trainers.

Squirtle looked like a tortoise. The back of its shell was a reddish brown while the front was yellow. It stood on two legs and had a tail curling out from behind them. Its skin was completely blue, with no hair, fur or wrinkles, to ensure the least drag for smooth swimming.

Charmander, on the other hand, was orange in colour with a lighter underbelly. It also had a tail, though its tail was straighter, like a lizards. The tail also had a fire burning at the tip, which was supposedly an indication of the Pokémon's health. _The heat I feel from the tail flame is not much. I've seen much stronger flames, which makes sense, since this is a starter Pokémon, and untrained. _

"What did you get, Red?" asked Tina, which was echoed by Ricky, "Yeah show us what you got!"

In the hurry of the other Trainers picking their Pokémon, Red's own Pokémon had slipped his mind. W_hat's inside this Cherish Ball? Time to find out._

Red tossed the Ball up, but it remained closed. He caught it and turned to Professor Oak with a puzzled look on his face. So did the other kids. Oak chuckled and walked to the far table. He sat at the computer and typed in a few keys. He clicked a few times, and a whirring sound was heard from a machine near the computer. Oak grabbed something from the machine and walked back to where the children were standing. The whole process took less than a minute.

"Here you go Ricky, and this is for you Rolando, and this is yours Tina," he said while handing out cards to each of them. "This is your Trainer Card. It is your identification as well as your license to own Pokémon. Take care of it and do not lose it. On your way out, show it to any of my assistants and they'll give you some Poké Balls. Good luck!"

"Bye Red. See you on the road!" shouted Ricky as he zipped past.

"Hah, loser! Didn't even get a Pokémon" said Rolando racing to catch up to Ricky.

Tina stood there for a second before running after them. "Good luck Red," before she exited the room.

Red stood impassively as the three left the room. Once they had gone, he looked at Oak expectantly. Oak sighed and said, "Red, I know you're confused about why that Poké Ball is empty. The reason is that it wasn't meant to have anything inside. I used it as a placeholder for the special Pokémon. At first, I was going to give out a Pikachu as the special Pokémon. As you may know, Pikachu are quite rare, so receiving one as a starter is quite a boon!"

Red's eyes lit up at hearing the name of the Pokémon he would receive. _Pikachu is only found in Viridian Forest. Even there somebody can go days without seeing one._

"But when those three came in late, I had to punish them. So I set forth the new rules. But I also decided that I would not give you Pikachu, if you were to choose the special Pokémon. You see, as I was saying before those three entered, your mother had come over for a chat. We spoke about you, Red. I must say that I am very impressed with the maturity you have shown these past five years. And seeing it firsthand has made me that much more sure about my decision." At this Red looked confused. _What maturity did I display now?_

"You had no idea what this special Pokémon would be. It could have been an extremely common Pokémon. You could have negated any risk and chosen one of the regular starters and nobody would have thought the lesser of you. Instead you gave all three of them a chance to receive a Pokémon. That shows a very high level of maturity. Also, when they were leaving, Rolando taunted you but you did not react. Yes, I'm sure about my choice."

_What choice is he talking about? Hah, I'm glad he mistook my risk taking behaviour for maturity. But now what? What Pokémon do I get? It's apparently not Pikachu._

"Red, what I am about to do is not completely against the rules but is highly frowned upon. As the official Registrar for Pokémon Trainers, I am required to give out a Pokémon to all those who do not have Pokémon of their own. Normally the League provides me with the Pokémon to give out. They have breeding centres where they raise Pokémon for the explicit purpose of being given to new Trainers. These Pokémon aren't as powerful as ones you will find in the wild, but over time they will gain strength and surpass the wild Pokémon. Think about it in terms of development. Two things determine a Pokémon's strength — its genes and its experiences, or training. Potential derived from genes is fixed at birth. Experience training, on the other hand, has no limit."

Oak stopped there to take a breath. He walked towards the exit of the room, but stopped just next to the door, where there was a water dispenser. After helping himself to some, he continued, "Starter Pokémon are raised to have relatively weaker genes. Wild Pokémon have a wider range of genes and are generally stronger. However, they do not have a Trainer to build up their strength and make them mightier, which is why Trained Pokémon are almost always more powerful." Oak paused again. There was complete silence in the room; even the machines had stopped whirring and beeping. Red had always been one for silences. Where others felt awkward, silences were comfortable to him, like a favourite blanket. This silence signified something, an event of great import.

Oak walked over to a blank section of the wall between the computer and Pokémon healing machine. As he walked he spoke, "However, a lesser known fact is that these breeding centres also produce Pokémon that have superior genes. The number of these Pokémon is much fewer than the standard starter due to the uncertainty involved in breeding. I believe the ratio is about one to a thousand."

A/N - What do you think is going to happen? I'd like to hear it in the reviews!


	5. Chapter 5 - Perfect Pokemon

A/N - Chapter 5 up, and again, I'd like to thank my lovely fiancé for beta reading. Please review and tell me what you think.

Chapter 5 - Perfect Pokémon

He reached the wall and began tapping on a hidden keypad. As his finger hit the wall, a number would light up. Red, being a pragmatist, memorised the number. _060189\. It could be useful later._

"So, Red, have you figured out why I'm telling you this?" Oak turned his face to look at Red as a panel in the wall popped open like a hidden door.

Red had. _I think he's going to give me one of these Pokémon! I can't believe it!_

He nodded. Oak chuckled, "Ah never one for words, eh? Your mother warned me about that. Doesn't matter. Yes, I think that you deserve one of these Perfect Pokémon. That's what they're called in Breeder lingo, as it doesn't get better than this in the breeding world."

The term struck a chord in Red's mind. He remembered a Trainer who had come to his old store to buy some Max Potions. That Trainer had been very proud and had been showing off his Squirtle to anybody who would listen, claiming that the Squirtle was a Perfect Pokémon. People had been skeptical about the claim as nobody had ever heard that phrase before, but the Trainer had scoffed at them and called them all ignorant villagers. He had then released a Pidgeot, and flown away on its back. But Red remembered seeing the Squirtle. There had been something different about it; it didn't behave like all the other Squirtle Red had seen. Perhaps that Trainer had been right.

He focused on what Oak was doing. Behind the wall panel was a safe. Oak took out a key from a chain around his neck and plugged it into the safe. Without turning the key, he faced Red.

"What you are seeing — the secret panel, this safe — have only been seen by two pairs of eyes before today, mine and Blues. The existence of these Perfect Pokémon is a closely guarded secret. Otherwise everybody would want one, and there are nowhere near enough to give out to everybody," he paused. He looked straight at Red, punctuating his words with seriousness, "You have to promise to never reveal the existence of this safe and the contents of it to anybody. Even your own family."

Red sensed the weight of Oak's words. If people ever found out about the Perfect Pokémon, and that Oak had some in his laboratory, there would be a stampede of Trainers clamouring for one. Oak would get no rest, and there would be no shortage of would-be thieves breaking into the lab. He nodded once, but then a question that had been nagging at his mind bubbled to the surface.

"If genetics is only responsible to a certain extent, and training can have a larger effect, why do good genes matter?" he asked Professor Oak. Oak chuckled at the question. "Good boy Red, I was wondering if you would catch that. The reason for that, is that genes also determine the rate of power increase. A Perfect Pokémon will grow stronger much faster than others. It saves years of training!"

_Wow. That makes a lot more sense for it to be a secret. _Red nodded his head again in understanding.

"Like I was saying earlier, as the official Registrar of Trainers, I have to give out a Pokémon to all applicants who do not have their own. However, I retain the right to decide which Pokémon to give and to who. The League suggests either Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur, and I comply with that. It's easier for me to just let the applicants choose from the three and so that's what I do. But in some cases I like to meddle and give a particular Trainer a Pokémon of my choosing. Usually when I interfere I give a Pikachu. In all my years as Registrar, I have given out hundreds of Pokémon, out of which I have granted to applicants a grand total of six Perfect Pokémon."

He paused to let the gravity of that statement sink in. Red's eyes widened. _Only six? _He could appreciate the enormity of the situation. Only six Trainers before him had received Perfect Pokémon. Only six Trainers out of hundreds. _That makes me lucky number seven. _

"So you can understand that you are not to take this lightly. Very few Trainers have this advantage, and you must take the full benefit of it." Oak stopped talking and stared at Red. Red's mind had quickly processed the information Oak had given him. _This gives me a massive edge. Whichever Pokémon I get will always be stronger than others of the same level. I will hardly have to train it to keep up with my other Pokémon, and when I do train it, it will be more powerful than almost any opponent._

Red nodded again, a barely perceptible tilt of his head. Oak, apparently satisfied with what he saw, turned the key in the safe. The safe door swung outwards, and inside was yet another layer of security. There was a blank door behind the first, with a fingerprint scanner on one side. Oak pressed the pad of his right index finger on the scanner, and the door flickered and became transparent._ No, not transparent, it's disappeared! What amazing technology the Professor has access to! _

Behind this last door, it seemed like a normal safe. There were three racks, not unlike those in a supermarket where if one pulls an item out, the next one slides down to take its place. Each rack had a number of standard Poké Balls, though not all racks had the same number. The rack on the left was green, while the one on the right was blue. The middle one was a deep crimson. Red looked at the contents of the safe with intrigue.

Above each rack there was a screen, which displayed which Pokémon was inside the ball at the front of the rack. At first glance, it seemed that these were the same choices given to all new Trainers - Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. But when Red looked again, he saw the differences. While regular starter Pokémon were usually playful and easygoing, the Pokémon inside these Balls were anything but. The Squirtle had withdrawn into its shell, occasionally popping its head out to send a glare at the camera that was recording it. The Bulbasaur was lying on its belly, wearing a disdainful look on its face. The bulb on its back was slowly opening and closing, like the chest of a man as he slept.

_These Pokémon are more feral than usual. No wonder Oak would not consider giving them to beginner Trainers. And… that Charmander; it looks so intense. _

Indeed, the Charmander was different from the others. It stood perfectly still, staring at the camera. It didn't move a muscle, except to blink. It was perfectly disciplined. It had taken Red a tremendous amount of self control to not go on his journey and to help bring his family back on their feet. There had been times when he had been extremely tempted to just run away and start his quest, when he was so full of uncertainty that he felt his heart would be crushed, when he would look up to the sky so that his tears wouldn't fall. But he had held on to his values and stayed at home. This Charmander seemed much the same. There was no reason for it to be standing absolutely straight and in constant vigilance, but it was. Red felt a sense of belonging when he saw the Charmander, like he had come home after months of being away.

However, that was not the only thing that made the Fire type stand out. Its skin was coloured slightly differently from that of other members of their species. Regular Charmander was orange, whereas the one in this Poké Ball was closer to yellow. It was a subtle difference, but noticeable to the expert eye, which Red possessed, as hundreds of Trainers would pass through his store annually, showing off their Pokémon. _A Shiny Pokémon! You don't see many of those around. _

Shiny Pokémon were the result of a benign genetic mutation. Initially when this mutation had been discovered some years ago, people had thought that they would be more powerful than regular Pokémon due to their scarcity. That myth was debunked after a team of scientists measured the potential of three Shiny Rattata. This was compared to the results from hundred of regular Rattata and it was found that all the Shiny Rattata had varying positions in the spectrum, including one that was near the bottom. Shiny Pokémon were still valuable, though just because of their rarity.

Red felt instantly drawn towards the Charmander; he tried to look at the other two, but after the initial cursory glance, he couldn't help but focus on the Fire Type.

"So what do you think,Red?" said Oak, breaking Red out of his thoughts. "Impressive, aren't they?"

Red could only nod as he gawked at the image of Charmander on the screen. "What are you waiting for? Take it!" Oak urged Red.

Red was still staring at the screen as he slowly reached out and grabbed the sphere that held Charmander. As he took it out of the rack, the next Poké Ball rolled forward and the image on the screen was replaced with another Charmander; this one, however, had none of the restraint of its predecessor. The new Charmander was stalking around shooting Ember attacks at the walls. Seeing this, Red was doubly sure that he had picked the right Pokémon.

As soon as Red's hand was clear of the safe, Oak pushed a hidden button on the side. The fingerprint door came back into existence, fascinating Red with the technology once again. Oak then shut the safe door and turned the key, putting it back around his neck. He then closed the hidden panel of the wall and there was no sign at all of anything being behind the wall, except for the Poké Ball in Red's hand. He looked at it for a second and then pressed the button in the middle, releasing Charmander.

The flame on the tip of its tail was large, larger than any Charmander's should be. And Red could feel the scorching heat from it, as if he were a loaf of bread in an oven. It stared at Red with its intense crimson eyes. Red stared back.

Nobody ever asked Red why he was named so. It was obvious at the first meeting. He had been born with brown eyes speckled with maroon. It was slightly unnerving to some people, that a boy's eyes should have a reddish tinge to them.

Blood red eyes met their brick-coloured counterparts. After a moment that forged a connection for a lifetime, the Charmander walked over to Red. He knelt down and petted its head and whispered to it.

"You will be the inferno that obliterates our opponents."

A/N - There you have it! Red has picked his first Pokémon!


	6. Chapter 6 - Technology

A/N - Never fear, Chapter 6 is here. As always, thank you to my fiancé for correcting my flaws. Please read and review!

Chapter 6 - Technology

Charmander gazed up at Red, who was kneeling and whispering to it. Oak stood watching the first interactions between Pokémon and Trainer. He could feel the attachment forming, almost as if it were tangible. One didn't study Pokémon or give them out to new Trainers for decades without picking up on the little body movements and facial expressions that spoke a language by themselves. He was very satisfied with what he saw. He saw that Red would take good care of Charmander and that Charmander in turn would fight to the end for Red. He inwardly congratulated himself on doing the right thing.

He left them to get to know each other, and walked to his computer. He opened the application that was used to create Trainer cards. He entered Red's name into the application and the Pokémon that he had chosen to start with. Within seconds, he was holding up a red coloured card with Red's name and image printed on it. It had an embedded microchip which stored other information, such as Pokémon owned and win-loss record. This was the bread and butter of every Pokémon Trainer. A Trainer Card essentially was the authorisation to train Pokémon and compete in tournaments. Anybody could capture a Pokémon and battle, but without a Trainer Card, they were not allowed to compete in any official League tournaments. That didn't stop some entrepreneurs from organising their own illegal tournaments though.

Another function of the Trainer Card was as a wallet. Funds were stored electronically on it, to use as required. Remittance was also directly on to the Trainer Card. It was a high tech debit card, and ever since the technology had been developed, nobody used cash anymore. To check the amount of money on it, one simply had to press a tiny button on the side, and the balance on the card would be displayed. There was also a tiny multipurpose scanner at the back of the card.

Oak could remember when he received his first Trainer Card. It hadn't had any of these technological marvels in it, but he had been overjoyed. The card was probably still somewhere in his laboratory. He would have to take out time to look for it one of these days. But first, he needed to give this young Trainer _his_ first card. He walked back to Red, who stood up. Oak held out his hand with the card to hand it over.

"Here's your Trainer Card, Red," he started, "I'm sure you know the significance of this. You are now officially a Pokémon Trainer. You are free to begin your journey." Red took the card from Oak and looked at it from all sides, first looking at his picture, the one he had submitted along with his application, and then turning it around to look at the back. While the new Trainer was examining his latest acquisition, Oak was examining him, mind whirring in deep thought.

After a few seconds, he nodded to himself and said, "There's one more thing, Red. You know, over a hundred species of Pokémon have been discovered in Kanto to date. And there are even more species in other parts of the world. But there is no standardised set of information available on them. I have dreamed of collecting information on all available Pokémon for a very long time, but I was too busy with research earlier, and now I am too old to run around the country capturing Pokémon. So I have created a device that reads the genetic code of a Pokémon and can automatically pick up information about it based on its genes. If you simply point it at a Pokémon, you can find out the Type of the Pokémon, its current health and where you can find the Pokémon in the wild. When you capture a Pokémon, the device links with the Poké Ball used to capture it. I'm sure you don't know that a Poké Ball isn't used just to capture and store Pokémon, right?"

Red, in fact, did not know that little tidbit of information. He listened closely, filing away all new information in his brain.

"Poké Balls link with the Pokémon they are used to capture. This link is used to prevent anybody from capturing the same Pokémon with another Ball or to use the ball to capture another Pokémon. Up until recently, the link also collected information only about the health of the Pokémon. It was a very under-utilised piece of work. However, with the development of my device, the link now collects genetic information and passes it on. My device can then tell you all the information about that species, including moves it has learnt and moves it will learn. Really, it provides a large advantage to Trainers. I call this device the Pokédex."

Red knew exactly what device Oak had been talking about. Not many Trainers actually owned a Pokédex, but those that did were generally much more successful. The first Pokédex had been given out at the time that Oak's grandson Blue started his journey, about five years ago. Obviously, being Oak's grandson, Blue had received a Pokédex. It was obvious that the Pokédex had helped him get to where he was currently — the Pokémon Champion of Kanto. Blue wielded strategy like a sword; he had never lost a battle. His Pokémon were all of different Types and very strong. However… _Oak probably gave Blue more than just a Pokédex. I think Blue received a Perfect Pokémon as well! _And it was extremely likely that this was true. No Pokémon had ever defeated Blue's starter.

Red was brought back to the present moment when Oak smiled and continued speaking, "I want you to take one too. It will help you in your journey, and me in the completion of my dream. It'll be a win-win situation."

Red couldn't say no to that. He nodded his acquiescence, which widened Oak's grin. The old professor turned and walked back to the desk with the computer. Red followed, Charmander padding along next to him. Every move the Pokémon made was with a sense of purpose, no unnecessary fidgeting or extraneous motions. Red was very impressed with the discipline that Charmander showed. _I'm going to love training and travelling with Charmander. I can't wait to get out of here and on the road._

Oak searched through the mess of documents on the table until he found what he was looking for with an "Aha!". He held it up and turned around.

The first thing Red noticed was that it was red in colour. And its outer covering was a shiny plastic. _I knew that's what it was!_ He had caught a glimpse of it as soon as he walked in the door, and he had suspected it of being a Pokédex. The entire thing was the size of book, and not a thick one. A screen took up the middle and there were buttons on either side of the screen. On one side there were directional arrows. Oak pressed one of the buttons and the device flashed on. On the screen however, was printed 'Pokédex set up - Insert Trainer Card'.

Red handed over his card to Oak, who inserted it into a slot on the top. Red's picture and his information showed up on the screen after a couple of seconds. Oak confirmed it after the Pokédex asked for it. He removed the Trainer Card and handed both to Red.

"There, it's registered to you now. Red, I think you might have what it takes to beat my grandson. He's put himself on a pedestal, and a little lesson might serve him well. I wish you all the best."

They shook hands and Red walked out of the laboratory, Charmander trailing a step behind. They continued walking in silence until they reached Red's house. Red stopped outside the door and smiled down at his Pokémon. The lizard smiled back. Red opened the door.

Inside, his mother was busy in the kitchen cooking lunch. As she heard the door open, she ran out and with a laugh she picked up Charmander and hugged him. Charmander looked stunned by the display of affection, but after a few seconds accepted it.

"Oh, what a cute Charmander, and it's a Shiny one! Red, he looks just like you; so serious all the time."

She placed Charmander back on the ground. Her smile turned upside down. "This is it, I guess. It's finally time for you to leave, Red."

Red nodded, looking a little worried.

"No! Stop that. This is hardly the first time I've been alone, son. All these years I've been worrying about you. Nothing will change. Now go. You've been waiting far too long for me to stop you."

She placed Charmander back on the floor and petted its head before straightening up. She turned and walked back into the kitchen, surreptitiously wiping an eye while her back was turned to her son.

He stood there for a second before grabbing Charmander and running up to his room, taking the stairs two at a time.

He entered his bedroom and took a look around, trying to fix it in his memory. He knew that he would not be in this room for a long time to come. His bed was in one corner, the sheets and blanket still messy from when he woke up in the morning and ran off to get his Pokémon. He took a minute to make his bed. _Hate messiness._ He was just about done, and grabbed his backpack. He was walking to the door, when his gaze fell on his desk and a couple of packages on it. _Damn, I almost forgot those! _

All his supplies had been purchased and kept ready over the past week. Most had been ordered online from the Poké Mart chain, at which Red had access to a substantial discount as part of the agreement which let the chain take over his old store. He had a full stock of healing items, Poké Balls ,food and clothes.

Everything went into his backpack; it was one of those that could store way more than it looked like it could. Before putting the Poké Balls in, he scanned them at the back of his Trainer card so that they would be registered to his Trainer ID. Last, he adjusted his red hat on his head so that it fit better. Then he lifted his backpack and walked down the stair, Charmander a step behind.

As he reached the bottom, his mother was standing at the door. He made his way to her and gave her a hug. She smiled at him through tear filled eyes and held his hand for a moment. "I want you to know that I'm proud of you, Red. I have only one request. Complete your dream. Be the greatest Pokémon Master ever. I love you and you will always have my support, wherever you go."

_I hope she will be okay. Maybe I should get her a Pokémon to keep her company._

He smiled back at her and gave a firm nod before walking out the door. He didn't need to say anything. She knew how he felt and she knew that he would give it everything that he had.

He stepped out of the door and shut it behind Charmander. The duo walked side by side until they were at the edge of Pallet Town. They stopped just inside the border and looked out into Route 1. They looked at each other simultaneously and nodded.

The time was at hand. They took the first step of their journey together.

The whole world was open to them.

A/N - Red finally is off on his journey! I have a basic outline of his journey planned out, and it will mainly follow the games. I'm open to suggestions from readers though. Put them up in reviews and I might incorporate them into the story - with a shout out, of course!


	7. Chapter 7 - First Steps

A/N - Chapter 7 is out. It's quite a bit longer than the previous ones! Red is on his way now. The earlier chapters were all part of the set up. Here's where the action begins. As always, a big thank you to my fiancé.

Come on readers, please review! It'll really help me as a writer!

Chapter 7 - First Battle

Red and Charmander walked along the paved walkway that was called Route 1. Their feet beat a pattern on the ground. It had been a week since they had walked out of Pallet together and they were nearing the closest city, Viridian. Trainer and Pokémon got along fabulously, as expected. They formed a terrific team, and no wild Pokémon could stand up to them. Red barely had to give orders to Charmander; it was as if the Pokémon could read his mind. The words would barely escape his lips before Charmander would do exactly as ordered. Route 1 consisted of mainly Pidgey and Rattata with the occasional Spearow, none of which even challenged Charmander's Ember attack. The couple of Pokémon that managed to land a surprise attack on Charmander found that the Fire Type could shrug it off with ease and decimate them subsequently. Most Pokémon that Charmander defeated would be simply knocked out. An unlucky few would be killed in order to provide the duo with their next meal. Red was not a wasteful person. Living in near poverty had taught him to appreciate whatever came his way. All in all, the trip was eventless. Well, almost.

On the fourth evening, Charmander and he had found a nice spot under a tree on the banks of a stream to make camp. They ate their fill of roast Spearow that Charmander had defeated earlier that day. In the morning, Red discovered that he had been sleeping right under a Pidgey nest and his sleeping bag was covered in Pidgey droppings. _Yuck, what shitty luck, pardon the pun._ When he looked up at the nest, he saw the biggest Pidgey he had ever seen before. It was half again the size of largest Pidgey he had seen before and it was sitting on the nest. _I have to catch this one! It's huge!_

Red had never intended to catch a Pidgey. Of course, he would have to in order to complete the Pokédex, but that was a later goal, one that he had not decided if he would work towards or not. His current target was to train Charmander and perhaps catch a Grass or Water Type, and hence he was just frying all the Normal Type Pokémon he came across. But this Pidgey was massive! With training it would evolve into a fearsome Pidgeot. If nothing else, he could trade it for another Pokémon that he wanted.

"Charmander, Ember."

The Fire Type had woken up along with Red and had been busy heating their breakfast (leftovers from last night). As soon as Red spoke, it let out a small flame at its opponent who couldn't lift off in time. It was hit by the attack and knocked out of its nest. While falling, the Pidgey managed to right itself up and flap its wings. It hovered a foot above the ground for a few seconds to orient itself and then dashed towards the Fire Pokémon. This was the first Pidgey to endure one of Charmander's Ember attacks. _Man, this Pidgey is stronger than any other. What luck finding it!_

The bird Pokémon flew at Charmander, but the latter dodged it at the last second, showing speed it hadn't had the need to show so far. Charmander shot another Ember at Pidgey's back, hitting the Flying Type while it was turning to make another go. This time the bird fell out of the air and onto the ground, where it feebly tried to flap its wings to take off again. Before it could muster enough strength, Charmander rushed to where it fell and attacked it with Scratch. This was too much for the Pidgey and it collapsed, unmoving. Red threw a Poké Ball at the bird, which was sucked inside as a mass of red energy. The Ball shook once, twice, three times before coming to a rest with a '_ping'_.

Since then, Red had been training both Charmander and Pidgey. They would fight wild Pokémon in the day, and come evening after setting up camp, they would spar against each other. The Pidgey _was_ resilient. Charmander's attacks were exceptionally strong, but Pidgey could take a few hits before getting exhausted. On the other hand, Charmander could withstand anything that Pidgey threw at it. To say that Red was impressed was an understatement. _I knew I was getting a good deal, but this is beyond all expectations! No wonder these Pokémon aren't given out normally._

Red tripped on a rock and his mind was brought back to the present. After training for a couple of days, Red's Pidgey had grown slightly in strength. It could take a couple more of Charmander's hits and could attack Charmander for longer than it could when Red had just caught it. _This is why Trained Pokémon are stronger than wild Pokémon. Regular training builds stamina and strength. This is what Oak was talking about. _

Currently Pidgey was flying a few metres ahead of Red at about double of his height, while Charmander plodding along beside him. Red preferred to keep his Pokémon outside of their Poké Balls when they were in the wild, as he felt it fostered cooperation and created stronger bonds between all parties.

As they turned past a copse of evergreens, they found themselves facing a sprawling spread of buildings and houses. Pidgey coo'ed and landed on Red's head. Red and Charmander looked at each other and could see the relief in each other's eyes. Their days of sleeping on the ground were over, even if it was for only a little while. And the food! Charmander would roast whatever Pokémon they had killed for the day, but it could not compare to a real meal prepared by somebody who actually knew what they were doing. Red resolved to pick up a book or two on how to cook food in the wilderness. But first… Pokémon Centre!

The formation of the League had introduced the concept of Pokémon Centres. These buildings were scattered around the world; every major city had one and some of the larger ones had two or three even! There were also Centres in the middle of some of the longer Routes between cities. A Pokémon Centre was a boon for Trainers. The receptionist nurse would heal Pokémon for free, while Trainers looking for a cheap bed and meal could find those, too. It was better than sleeping on the ground, and cheaper than staying in a hotel, which made it extremely popular with transient Trainers. But during peak season times, such as the League Championships, it was almost impossible to get a room at any Centre due to the influx of Trainers who wanted to watch the televised shows. However, since most Trainers were nomadic, most of the time it was easy to get a room. Having many Trainers staying under the same roof was a recipe for impromptu battles, and so Pokémon Centres also maintained an area just to the side of the building for Trainers to battle each other.

A half hour saw the trio entering the Pokémon Centre, which was almost at the edge of city limits on the side of Pallet Town. While Charmander was powerful and unbeaten, it had taken a few hits. Red had also trained Pidgey a little, battling it against some of the weaker Pokémon that the little group encountered. Both Pokémon had some injuries that would need to be healed. As they entered, Red took look around.

As the Centre was primarily a place for medical practice, the walls reflected that with a light green colour. Directly in front of the door was the reception desk, headed as always by a nurse. The machine used to heal Pokémon was sitting behind her, along with a large, egg shaped Pokémon._ A Chansey! They aren't ever used to battle due to their affinities towards healing and helping others. They would be quite useless on the battlefield. But their healing abilities are beyond measure._ It was said that one bite of a Chansey's egg would heal almost any infliction.

Red took his eyes off the egg shaped Pokémon and started walking towards the counter. There were doors that led to hallways on either side of the room. A sign above the left hallway pointed out that the door led to the cafeteria, while the right side hallway led to the rooms that Trainers could rent for a night. Red produced his Trainer Card as he reached the counter, it being mandatory to avail of any of the services at the Centre, and handed it over along with his Poké Balls.

The nurse on duty took the two Poké Balls and his Trainer Card from Red with a smile. She pressed the button on both balls to recall the Pokémon, and placed both in the healing machine. She pressed a switch on the machine to start the process. In a few moments, Red had his Poké Balls attached to his belt, his Trainer Card in his pocket and his Pokémon by his side. He nodded thanks to the receptionist and made his way to the cafeteria.

As he entered, he stopped at the doorway to look around. The place was almost empty. There were about a dozen tables in the room, of which only two were occupied. A table in the row nearest the door was off to the side against a large window that looked out into the concrete Viridian jungle. A group of three Trainers sat at the table, slurping their ramen noisily and generally making small talk. Two were female and one was male. Red gave them a cursory glance before focusing on the only other occupant of the room.

It was a girl about his age who had taken a table at the very back of the room. She was wearing a blue tank top due to which Red could see that her arms were slim yet strong. A white hat was lying on the table next to her tray of food, which she seemed to have mostly ignored. _Wow she's really pretty. I wonder what her name is? Should I go talk—Yikes she's looking at me! _He jerked away from her gaze, touches of red shading his cheeks and feeling foolish for ogling, he walked towards the counter to get some food, his Pokémon trailing a step behind.

_Wow, this place is really empty. Looks like the Gym Leader isn't taking challenges right now. _

He made his way to a table as far away as possible from the two occupied ones, one that was in the centre of the room. As he placed his tray on the table, he glanced at the girl sitting by herself and noticed once again that she was looking at him. This time he also managed to see that she was wearing a red skirt, which showed off her slender legs. Feeling a blush coming on, he decided to sit facing away from her. He placed some Pokémon food in front of Charmander and Pidgey. He made sure that there was enough for the both of them to eat their fill but not completely stuff themselves.

While eating his lunch, a sandwich, he thought about some battle strategies that he could use in the future. _Charmander can get over its weakness to Rock and Ground with pure power and moves such as Metal Claw, but Water is a huge problem. The best strategy would be to not use Charmander against a Water type, but every situation is not ideal. Once it evolves into Charizard I can use Flying type attacks, but until then I need a solution._

His concentration was on his thoughts while he absentmindedly ate his lunch. So deep was he in his contemplation that he didn't notice when the noise level in the cafeteria suddenly died down. He didn't even realise it when footsteps sounded towards him. He was, however, shaken out of his reverie when a shadow fell across his table. He looked up to see one of the three Trainers from the first table standing there. It was one of the girls. She was wearing a school uniform, white shirt and a tie over a red plaid skirt. On her feet were black shoes with stockings up to her knees. She had a strange look on her face, like she was angry or upset. Her friends were standing some distance away, amused smirks plastered on their faces and whispering to each other. _What does she want?_

"Um, hey, I was just, um, thinking." she started. Red didn't miss the fact that her voice was shaking as she spoke. "I was, uh, sitting there and, um, and I thought…"

"I thought, um, wudjubintrestedinnabal?" _Is this girl crazy? What did she say?_ Red looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"Eep! Sorry!" her exclamation was punctuated by the growing blush on her cheeks. "I meant, um, would you, if you don't mind, um, you know, battle against me? You don't have to say yes, you know, only if you want to!" She turned around and gave her friends a nervous smile.

_My first Trainer battle! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! I just have to win this! _

Heart thudding in his chest, Red nodded. His plate was almost empty, and though he had been through tough times as a child and had learned the hard way not to waste food, he was too nervous and excited to finish what was left. His heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was going break his ribs. Yet, the ever stoic Red did not show any emotion. He looked over at his Pokémon and saw that they were done eating too.

He stood up, and his Pokémon straightened up as well. Pidgey took to the air, while Charmander stood there gazing up at him. Red's mouth curled ever so slightly into a half smirk, and he grabbed the rim of his hat and turned it backwards.

"Yay! I wasn't sure that you would agree! I'm so excited! Your Charmander looks pretty strong. And it's so serious too!" _She really talks a lot. I hope her battle skills are as formidable as her mouth. _

Red followed the girl outside, with her babbling the entire way. Her two friends followed a few steps behind. Once outside, they walked to the centre of the area cleared just for Pokémon battles. One of her friends, the male, stood between the two acting as referee, while the girl stood at one end of the area, outside the field lines.

"This battle is between Alice of Saffron City and… what's your name dude?"

"Red. Red from Pallet Town."

"This battle is between Alice of Saffron City and Red of Pallet Town. Each Trainer may use only one Pokémon. Whoever knocks out the other's Pokémon first is the winner and will receive 200 Pokédollars from the loser." _200 Pokédollars? All I can get with that is a potion. Oh well, it's just my first battle. There are lot's more Trainers out there to defeat. I wonder what Pokémon she will use. _

The two Trainers took out their Trainer Cards and placed them back to back. The scanner on each was scanning the other card to register the battle. Once that was done, they walked to opposite ends of the field and faced each other. Red stood with legs slightly apart, knees bent as if he was about to jump. Pidgey and Charmander stood on either side of him.

The girl, Alice, plucked out a Poké Ball from three that were attached to her belt. All three were in their miniature forms, for easy storage. When she pressed the button in the front, it enlarged in her hand to the normal size for ease of use. She threw the ball towards Red and shouted "Go Pidgey!"

Her Pidgey appeared out of the Poké Ball. The small brown bird flapped its wings and flew around the field before landing facing Red.

_A Pidgey! Should I use my own or should I go for the kill? Charmander can easily take it down. But Pidgey needs to be trained. But I also don't want to lose my first battle ever! _

"Pidgey is my strongest fighter! I got it from my older sister. There's no way you'll be able to defeat it with your Pidgey. Use Charmander and give me a real battle!"

That settled it for Red._ Grr, now I don't have a choice! _

"Go, Pidgey" Red said. His own Pidgey flew up and landed facing Alice and her Pidgey. Red noticed that his Pokémon was much larger, and the brown was a little deeper, so he could easily tell the two apart.

"Oh yay! I was really hoping you wouldn't use Charmander. It looks very strong. Pidgey, use Tackle!" Alice's Pidgey dove towards Red's.

"Sand Attack, then Gust" said Red.

Red's Pidgey flapped its wings at the ground sending a spray of dirt and sand at its opponent's eyes. The smaller bird was rendered blind and veered away from Red's Pidgey before crashing to the ground. Red's Pidgey flapped its wings again, sending a powerful burst of wind at the fallen bird just as it was rising. It got hit by the sudden wind and flew back a few feet to crash into the ground again.

"No! Pidgey! Get up and use your own Gust!"

"Quick Attack!"

Alice's Pidgey stood up looking quite tired. It flapped its wings once to get airborne, and tried flapping them again to send a Gust attack. Before it could muster enough wind power to send a Gust, Red's Pidgey flash disappeared and reappeared in a collision with the other Pidgey. It then flew back to Red's side of the field and landed facing Alice. Alice's Pidgey, on the other hand, had tumbled to the ground yet again, and this time was out for the count.

Alice's face fell, and she quickly recalled her Pokémon into its PokéBall. Charmander and Red ran up to Pidgey, congratulating it for a job well done. _It looks like Pidgey is pretty strong too. I wasn't sure it would win, let alone attain a flawless victory. The training with Charmander must have paid off, not to mention how abnormally huge it is!_

Red looked up after recalling Pidgey into its Poké Ball and saw Alice being comforted by her friends. She still looked dejected. Red walked up to her and held out his hand.

A look of realisation came over Alice. "Sorry, I forgot, I owe you 200" she said as she searched around her pocket for her Trainer Card.

Red impatiently shook his arm. Alice gaped at him, holding her Card in her hand. She looked at his outstretched hand, and then up at his face before a wide smile crept onto her own. She grabbed his hand with her own and shook it. Red nodded once at her.

"You don't talk much, do you? Here, I owe you this anyway," she said pressing her Card into his. He didn't say anything as the Cards initiated the transfer of funds. Who was he to turn down his winnings? After the transfer was completed, he turned and walked away. What he didn't see was that the girl from the cafeteria had been watching the whole thing from the window, a sly smile on her face, plans already whirring through her head.

A/N - Can you guys guess who this mystery girl is? And what her plans are? Let me know in your reviews!


	8. Chapter 8 - Pains and Gains

A/N - Chapter 8! Again, thanks to my fiancé for proofreading. Please review!

Chapter 8 - Pains and Gains

_I think I'm lost. _Red was currently trying to navigate the maze that was Viridian Forest. It had been three days since he had entered, and it had been three days since he had been lost, though he was only just now admitting it to himself. He had entered a small clearing which had patches of burnt grass on one side. That didn't help him at all and so he resorted to other means.

He turned around in a complete circle, hoping to see a glimpse of something that could help him get his bearings. Beside him, Charmander also circled around, imitating its Trainer. Pidgey had landed on a branch of a nearby tree, waiting for its Trainer to start moving in a direction again. _Okay, I _**_know_**_ I'm lost. Argh!_

He swivelled his head from left to right, trying to find something that would help him, but to no avail. His map dangled helplessly in his hand. He had long given up trying to use it; one couldn't use a map if one couldn't tell where one was on it!

His sight fell on his backpack, which he had discarded in his confusion of which path to take. His thoughts honed in on his latest prize and the method of acquisition. He remembered the details vividly.

The day he defeated his first human opponent Alice, he had then spent the rest of the day wandering Viridian City. He had gone to the Gym as well, to scope it out if nothing else. See if he could learn anything to give him an advantage for when he actually could battle the Leader. Gym Leaders weren't easy to defeat; all of them had been training Pokémon for years and it required careful preparation and strategy to win against them.

Over the last five years, Red had done a lot of research to prepare for his journey. He knew the first step to becoming Champion was to beat the Gym Leaders. The town where he had grown up had many Trainers passing through regularly. Since he had worked at the store, and a visit to the store was a priority to many Trainers, he had always had Trainers to talk to and to ask questions of. He had even met Blue once, but the prodigal Trainer had boisterously refused to answer any questions stating that his secrets were his own. Regardless, Red had found out the best routes to take, where the shortcuts were, which Pokémon were available at each locations and how to catch certain evasive species. Sadly, even with all this knowledge he was lost in Viridian Forest. _How do I read this bloody map? All I see is trees, trees everywhere!_

His research, however, was much more exhaustive than simply the secondhand information from other Trainers. He was regularly up to date on the League rules and changes to them. In short, he was as prepared as any Trainer could be before leaving home.

He knew that the Gym in Viridian was empty. It was empty most of the time. The Leader was a rich and powerful man who fought from the shadows, and whose occupancy in the business and political worlds took up most of his time. He used very strong Ground Type Pokémon, but he accepted challengers only on a few days a month, when he could take time off from his busy schedule. Potential challengers would have to wait in Viridian until one of those days, which is what Red gauged at the nearly empty Pokémon Centre. If the Leader had been taking challenges, the Centre would have been crowded with all the Trainers who had been waiting for the last month. The League rules stated that every Gym must be open for five days a week and that the Gym Leader must be present for at least two hours everyday that the Gym is open. The Viridian Gym system was blatantly against the policy of the League, but the Leader's influence and contacts could cut through all the red tape, so he remained Gym Leader much to the frustration of many Trainers.

Once he was turned away from the Gym, he made his way to Route 22, to the West. Route 22 led to the Pokémon League but Red wasn't headed there. He reached the outskirts of Viridian and started training Pidgey and Charmander. They trained for the rest of the day, and returned to the Centre in the evening exhausted and perspiring. _Pidgey really seems to be getting stronger. Still a long way away from Charmander though._

As Red entered the Centre, he noticed that there were quite a few more Trainers lounging in the reception area than there were earlier in the day. There were a few who were dressed like that Rolando, the boy who picked his Pokémon at the same time as Red, dressed in red tracksuits. Through the window, he could even see some Trainers around the battling field, with a cyan coloured rabbit like Pokémon battling against a Rattata. _The Nidoran(F) is going to win. It's a few levels higher at least._

He turned away from the battle and got his Pokémon healed. While at the counter, he rented a room for the night too. He walked down the right side hallway and climbed the stairs to the upper floor. Charmander hopped up the stairs beside him He walked all the way to the end, passing by an open door. As he walked by, he looked inside and saw the girl from earlier. Except she was dressed in only a towel. Red felt his face live up to his name and he quickened his pace. Once he reached his room, he looked back down the hall and saw that Pidgey had landed on the floor outside the open room and was looking inside. _Great, just what I need - a pervy Pidgey. _

He snapped his fingers twice to gain Pidgey's attention. Once he had it, he raised his eyebrow at the bird Pokémon, who flapped its wings once to lift off, took a last glance inside and flew back to land on its Trainer's head. To some, such behaviour would seem derogatory, as if a Trainer thought his Pokémon were slaves, but Red's Pokémon knew better. He just was not a talker. If something could be accomplished without speaking, no words would come out of his mouth. They accepted him as he was, and he was grateful for it.

The two Pokémon and their Trainer entered the room and settled in for the night. Red showered and gave his Pokémon a bath as well, or in Charmander's case, a sponge bath.

Once the trio was clean and fed, they retired for the night. Red was knowledgable and he had studied a lot to prepare for his quest, but he was yet not experienced. There were certain things that no guide or text book would mention and one would only learn the hard way, learning life's lessons empirically. This night happened to contain one of those lessons. Red forgot to lock his room door before falling asleep.

It was around midnight, and Red had been having a pleasant dream. A very pleasant dream. The dream involved him, the girl from the cafeteria and lots of chocolate sauce with a healthy serving of whipped cream. They were in the middle of a very compromising scene when all of a sudden she let out a large roar and he woke up flailing around in his blankets.

The first thing he noticed was that the door was slightly ajar, letting in a bar of light from the hallway outside. The second thing he noticed was that there was somebody in the room, the person's features hidden due to the light falling the wrong way. The last thing he noticed before jumping out of bed was that the mysterious person had grabbed Charmander, who didn't appreciate being manhandled that way, and had subsequently let out the roar that had roused Red from his randy reveries.

The stranger, on seeing the room's human occupant up and about, ran out the door while still holding on to the Fire Pokémon. In the midst of the commotion, Pidgey had also woken up. Together, Red and Pidgey chased the kidnapper out of the room. Once in the relatively well lit corridor, they saw that the stranger was wearing a black outfit with a ski mask on. Charmander was flailing around in the person's arms, trying to break free and get back to its Trainer. They were almost at the staircase at the other end of the hallway, the staircase that led down to the exit. Red knew that if he didn't catch up with them before the stranger exited the Centre, there was little chance of him finding Charmander.

He sprinted down the corridor, while Pidgey zoomed ahead. Flying is always faster than running. And Red's Pidgey was larger than the average Pidgey. The size difference extended to its wings as well, which allowed Pidgey to fly faster than a normal Pidgey and move much faster than Red could run. The result of this was that Pidgey caught up to the black suited person just before they could open the door to the stairway. Pidgey rammed into the back of the person, causing them to slam against the door, instead of opening it. Still the person managed to twist the doorknob. Since the door opening outwards, the three of them, two Pokémon and the kidnapper, tumbled out onto the landing. The intruder tried to get up and grab Charmander, but now the fire lizard had escaped and was wary against such an attempt, using the flame on its tail to ward away the stranger's hands. To make matters worse for the kidnapper, Pidgey had gotten entangled in his feet, creating an issue of maintaining balance.

Red caught up to them just as the kidnapper lost the battle for staying upright, and fell straight onto Red. Red, trying to halt after a sprint at full speed, was off balance himself, and both collapsed on to the floor, with the black suited intruder on top of Red. He didn't waste a moment, and pulled the mask off.

It was the girl from the cafeteria.

Her long brown hair cascaded onto Red's face, who was stunned. She squirmed away, trying to get up, but Red was faster. He regained his presence of mind and rolled over her, keeping her pressed to the ground. Unbidden, memories of his dream played in his mind, and he felt an uncomfortable pressure in his groin area. The girl stopped moving, her eyes widening into saucers. _Uh-oh, looks like she feels it too. What do I do, what do I do?_ Red had never been in this situation before. He had never been in **any** situation with a girl before.

He quickly got to his feet, watching out for any movement the girl might make. She had a couple of Poké Balls attached to her belt. _She might try and escape. There's no way I'm going to let her. Not after she tried to steal Charmander._

"Grr, I didn't think you'd catch me. I couldn't help myself! That Charmander is so powerful, it's a Perfect Pokémon right?" she said, as she picked herself up. "Judging from the look on your face, I think I'm right. Man, I never thought I'd see another Perfect Pokémon," she grinned at him.

Red knocked the shocked expression from his face. _How does she know? I never mentioned it to anybody! And why does she seem familiar? _He scowled at her, "Police."

"NO! Please don't! I..I..I'm sorry! Please don't call the cops!" wailed the girl. Red narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. _Why not? _

"I…I'll make it up to you! I've got something that you can have if you let me go." _Interesting, let's see what she puts on the table. _He motioned for her to keep talking.

"It's right this way, in my room. Come with me!" she turned away from Red. _Not so fast!_ Red lunged forward and grabbed the two Poké Balls that were hung on her belt. He didn't want her to use her Pokémon when he couldn't see. He noticed a tightening of her mouth as he took the Poké Balls, and was glad that he had anticipated her move. He pointed at Pidgey and then towards the girl. Pidgey understood what he indicated and swooshed forward to keep an eye on her from the front. Charmander, without requiring an order, moved behind the girl, blocking any method of escape.

The girl slumped in defeat and shuffled forward towards her room. Pidgey and Charmander escorted her inside, with Red following. She reached towards her backpack which was lying on the bed, but before she could, Charmander puffed out a lick of fire causing to pull her hand back in reflex.

"Okay, okay, I get it. No funny business. You get it out then. It's big and round. Don't press too hard, or it'll break."

Red reached into the bag and felt around for the item that she described. He found it almost immediately. It was as she said - big and round. He pulled it out of the bag and saw that, in his hands, he held a Pokémon egg. It was quite large, a little bigger than his head, and was light green in colour, with patches of darker green spaced unevenly on it. _Wow, an egg! I wonder which Pokémon will hatch from it._

"There you go. I got that egg when I picked up my Pokémon from the Day Care on Route 5. Now that you've gotten your prize, leave me alone. I hope to never see you again," saying so, the girl turned away from Red. He left the room followed by his Pokémon and in the morning when he passed by the girl's room, he wasn't surprised to see that the room was completely devoid of any sign of life.

That was how he came about to possess a Pokémon egg, the one that was currently in his backpack. His mind warped back to his present dilemma — finding a way out of this infernal forest. Charmander and Pidgey had retired to sit under a tree. Red decided that this was as good a place as any to take a lunch break. He put out some Pokémon food for the two, sat with his back to the tree and set upon his own lunch of dried meat and cheese.

He was watching his Pokémon eat, when all of a sudden a piece of their food started floating upwards. Charmander and Pidgey stopped eating and stared suspiciously at the morsel that was flying away from them. Red peered at it too, and noticed that there was a string attached to it that was pulling it. The string was so thin that it was almost invisible. His eyes followed the string along its length and saw the other end of it protruding from the tail end of a green caterpillar like Pokémon sitting on a branch above them. There were yellow rings on each of the segments that made up its body and a pair of red antennae on the front. _A Caterpie! How dare it steal food from my Pokémon! _After three days of being lost in the forest, he didn't know when he would find his way out. As such, he would have to conserve the food for both him as well as his Pokémon.

He pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the bug.

"Caterpie: Worm Pokémon. It has a voracious appetite and repels enemies by releasing a horrible stench from its antennae," the machine spewed.

_Oh man, that smell part sounds gross. Better take it out quickly. _"Pidgey, Gust! Charmander, Ember!"

Pidgey launched itself into the air and flapping its wings three times, while Charmander stepped back from the food and opened its maw towards Caterpie to shoot a small flare at the bug. Caterpie was hit by both attacks, and it fell to the ground in submission. The piece of food dangling from the thread was knocked away. _Might as well catch it_, thought Red as he lobbed a Poké Ball at the fallen Pokémon. Caterpie was caught!

Red picked up the Poké Ball containing Caterpie and sent out the newly caught Pokémon. Now that he had caught it, it was his responsibility, and if it was hungry he would have to feed it. Caterpie emerged from the Poké Ball looking battered and bruised from being attacked. _Shit, I need to heal it._ He got out a Potion from his backpack and gently sprayed it over the Bug Pokemon's foot long body. The bruises rapidly disappeared and soon Caterpie was healthily munching on some food. Meanwhile, Charmander had gone to look for the fallen morsel. It was about to pick up the piece of food, when it disappeared from the ground. All the Fire Type saw was a yellow flash. Charmander looked up and saw a yellow Pokémon munching on the morsel a dozen feet away.

Red glanced at Charmander and saw that it was staring at a yellow Pokémon some distance away. The Pokémon had yellow fur with long pointed ears that were tipped in black. There were two red circles on its cheeks and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. It sat there, just in front of a bush chewing on a piece of food. It cocked its head to one side in curiosity.

"Pikachu: Mouse Pokémon. It stores electricity in the pouches on its cheeks. It roasts hard berries to soften them. When several of them gather, they could cause lightning storms."

Red put his Pokédex away. He already knew which Pokémon it was, but he had decided to start collecting information in the Pokédex, not just for the professor, but for his own benefit as well. He had studied up on many Pokémon, but remembering all the information about every single one of them was not easy. He might forget important facts that could turn the tide of a battle. With information stored in the Pokédex at his fingertips whenever he needed it, he had no worry about forgetting minor details.

_Pikachu, huh? They're quick and powerful. Will definitely be helpful. I'll catch one. _

"Charmander, Ember!"

The lizard released a small flame that shot towards the mouse. The Pikachu stared at it as it approached. Just as it was about to make contact, the yellow Pokémon flashed away. _That Pikachu is very fast to have dodged Charmander's attack! _

The Electric Type looked annoyed at being attacked. It sent out a bolt of electricity at Charmander. "Dodge it, and get up close to Pikachu," but Charmander was already on its way. _How does it read my mind? _"Use Scratch!"

Charmander raised its right arm and lunged at Pikachu with its claws leading the way. Again, the Pikachu tried to zip away, but not before Charmander managed to nick it in the side. The speed with which Pikachu was moving and Charmander's hit unbalancing it caused the Electric Type to tumble away instead of moving on its feet.

"Now, use Ember!" Charmander launched a flame again, taking advantage of the prone Pokémon. But once more the wild Pokémon proved that it was faster by avoiding the attack. It flashed away and staring running towards Charmander, building momentum. Every few steps it would flash and appear closer to Red's Pokémon. _This is its Quick Attack! It's much too fast for Charmander! _

"Charmander, grab it when it comes near!" As Pikachu was about to make contact with Charmander, the latter grabbed hold of the former, showing speed Red had come to realise belonged only to Perfect Pokémon. But the Pikachu was a wily one. Since it was so close to Charmander, it released a bolt of lightning in the Fire Pokémon's face. _Damn! That's the first solid hit on Charmander! _

Red was worried about his starter, but Charmander shook off the attack. The surprise had caused it to let go of Pikachu, who had again zipped away to keep some distance. It again decided that speed was its best bet and started another Quick Attack. _What can I do? Pikachu is too fast for Charmander's ranged attacks. _A glimmer of an idea sparked in Red's mind. On the battlefield, Charmander tried to dodge the Quick Attack but Pikachu managed to get a glancing blow in, though it didn't really hurt Charmander. Pikachu flashed away again, ready to attack again. _Yeah, come at us!_

"Charmander come back, Caterpie use String Shot!"

Charmander took a step back reluctantly. Red could see that it still wanted to battle. This was the first opponent that had come close to challenging it. Red had no doubt that Charmander would defeat Pikachu in time, but he wanted to wrap this up quickly and test out Caterpie's capabilities. Caterpie emitted a roll of sticky string as Pikachu charged at it. The thread was very fine and hard to see, so Pikachu couldn't see it at the speed at which it was travelling. The string caught hold of Pikachu and wrapped around the yellow mouse, stalling it in its tracks and causing it to take a tumble. Pikachu couldn't move since it was tied up in sticky string. It tried to break free by gnawing at some strands.

"Caterpie! Tackle, now!"

The Worm Pokémon charged at the stationary mouse, who watched in alarm. Caterpie tackled Pikachu, finally getting a solid hit for Red's team. Pikachu rolled away in pain. It was still debilitated by the sticky thread and could not move.

"Tackle!"

Again Caterpie rushed at Pikachu with the intent to knock it down, and again Pikachu was hit directly.

_Now's my chance! _Red tossed a Poké Ball at the exhausted wild Pokémon.

A/N - Wow, the chapters just seem to be getting longer! I had planned for about 2000 words and reached almost double of that!

Come on readers, review! Give me your opinions and I'll give you faster and longer chapters!


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